Violence Breaks Out At Cory Booker Town Hall

A dispute over a procedure by Newark mayor Cory Booker to fill a city council seat led to what the Newark Star Ledger described as a “near-riot” on Tuesday night.

At a town hall meeting, Booker used a rule granting him the deciding vote in appointing Shanique Davis Speight to the council, prompting opponents of the move to storm the stage. In the process, police pepper sprayed a local union leader who the Star Ledger says appeared to lunge at Speight.

Booker is considering a run for governor against incumbent Chris Christie in 2013.